Work completed by our good friends at the EA fisheries team
Environment Agency fisheries teams have released hundreds of young fish into the River Wandle in south west London.
The nine-mile long river is now the new home for fish species including barbel, chub, roach and dace, thanks to the annual stocking programme led by the Environment Agency with help from Morden Hall Angling Club.
The fish were delivered direct to site by the staff who reared them at the Environment Agency’s Calverton Fish Farm near Nottingham. They have been grown and adapted for life in the wild.
The River Wandle between Beddington and Merton was badly affected by a major pollution event in September 2007. The river was subsequently restocked in December 2007 after assessments by scientists showed that the river’s ecology had recovered enough to support fish.
Tanya Houston, an Environment Agency fisheries officer, said: “This was an extremely successful restocking and it was great seeing so many new fish introduced to the River Wandle, which was so badly affected by pollution three years ago.
“The River Wandle is a prime example of providing an amenity for local anglers while creating and enhancing the environment. We know that the fish we have stocked in the past have always flourished in this area.
“It will be some years before the fish in the Wandle return to the size and number they reached before the incident in 2007. The Environment Agency will continue to work in partnership with the Wandle Trust, Thames Water and others to monitor the recovery of the river and seek opportunities for enhancements.”
The Environment Agency has also been working closely with anglers, landowners and regulators to find opportunities to further improve habitat along the river. This will provide shelter for smaller fish in high flows and help protect them from predators and pollution events.
More than 500 re-stockings are carried out by fisheries staff every year. Stocking of fish can bring socio-economic and conservation benefits to fisheries by increasing the numbers and species of fish available for capture, or by restoring stocks lost due to pollution or habitat degradation.
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Notes to editors
Calverton Fish Farm, near Nottingham, is a major source of river coarse fish in the UK, producing chub, barbel, dace, roach, bream, tench, rudd, crucian carp and grayling. All of the fish produced at the site are used by the Environment Agency to replace stocks lost during fish kills and in the development of new fisheries throughout the length and breadth of the country.
Fish are raised for one and a half years, by which time they are at least 10cm in length. This is an acceptable age and size for releasing fish into the wild as the majority of coarse fish reach maturity between two and four years of age.
Rod licence sales generate over £23 million in revenue each year, which the Environment Agency ploughs directly back into the sport.
The £27 rod licence fee helps pay for habitat improvement works, fisheries research, monitoring and advice to owners on fish stocks. It also funds the specialist equipment used in fish rescues and enforcement to protect fish stocks, as well as the Environment Agency’s fish farms. These farms provide hundreds of thousands of fish, which are stocked to improve popular angling spots and rivers across England and Wales.